Wednesday, April 13, 2011

Revisiting My Favorite Albums of The 1960s (Again)

So one year ago tomorrow, if you recall, I published this. In case you don't recall and don't feel like reading that (which would be perfectly understandable; it's very longwinded) I'll give you the highlights. Basically it said that my tastes in music change and I also hear new stuff all the time blah blah blah I'm republishing my Best Albums of Decades albums list! Yeah!

This time around, though, I'll spare you the color-coordinating and whatnot--and by spare you, I mean spare myself; that took me a long time. I also don't think I'll be writing too many (or any) explanations. The albums can speak for themselves, and, to be honest, I don't think the lists have changed too much. The major difference is that I'm including 102 albums instead of 90. So there.

Everyone knows the music of the '60s. Even if you weren't actually there, experiencing the music firsthand like James Murphy was, you're very familiar with the various strands of rock and pop and soul and jazz that were really created in the '60s and have since gone on to influence the music of every succeeding decade. Though there was certainly interesting music before the 1960s, there was a sort of synthesis of innumerable great concepts and ideas that were put into play during this particular decade. And, of course, this is the decade in which the album really became important. Prior to the '60s, albums tended to just be catalysts for singles. When the notion of the album as an art form was established in the early to mid-60s, music--especially rock n' roll--was changed for the better forever.

You'll notice different types of music on this list than on, say, the 1980s one. No hip-hop on account of it didn't exist yet. There's a lot more jazz on account of the '60s were the best decade ever for jazz. There are a lot of Beatles album on account of they're the greatest and most influential band probably ever. As such, though, this is a tricky list to put together. How does one compare the music of Peter Brotzmann and that of The Rolling Stones? They're both musicians like apples and oranges are both fruits, which is to say they're of the same family (or, perhaps, genus) but certainly not the same species. Well, I compared them anyways, and, spoiler alert, in this particular instance, The Stones came out ahead with Satanic Majesties. (Sorry for the clauses in that last sentence...) Anyways, enough talk. Here's the list.

102. Joan Baez--Joan Baez

101. Stan Getz & Joao Gilberto--Getz/Gilberto

100. Serge Gainsbourg--Songs On Page One

99. Cromagnon--Orgasm

98. Nancy Sinatra & Lee Hazlewood--Nancy & Lee

97. Yusef Lateef--Eastern Sounds

96. Bill Evans--Sunday At The Village Vanguard

95. The Soft Machine--The Soft Machine

94. Duke Ellington--Money Jungle

93. Scott Walker--Scott

92. Ornette Coleman--Town Hall 1962

91. The Rolling Stones--Let It Bleed

90. Del Shannon--The Further Adventures of Charles Westover

89. John Coltrane--My Favorite Things

88. The Beach Boys--Wild Honey

87. Silver Apples--Contact

86. John Coltrane--Africa/Brass

85. Bob Dylan--Nashville Skyline

84. Frank Zappa--Hot Rats

83. Sun Ra--Heliocentric Worlds

82. Robbie Basho--Venus In Cancer

81. The Beatles--With The Beatles

80. John Fahey--Requia

79. John Coltrane & Don Cherry--The Avant-Garde

78. Anthony Braxton--3 Compositions Of New Jazz

77. The Sonics--Boom

76. Skip Spence--Oar

75. Jane Birkin & Serge Gainsbourg--Jane Birkin et Serge Gainsbourg

74. The Beatles--Help!

73. Johnny Cash--Live At Folsom Prison

72. Art Ensemble of Chicago--Live In Paris

71. Isaac Hayes--Hot Buttered Soul

70. Leonard Cohen--Songs From A Room

69. The Kinks--The Kinks Are The Village Green Preservation Society

68. The Beatles--Please Please Me

67. Simon & Garfunkel--Bookends

66. Cecil Taylor--Unit Structures

65. Scott Walker--Scott 3

64. Bob Dylan--John Wesley Harding

63. The Band--The Band

62. Eric Dolphy--Out To Lunch

61. Creedence Clearwater Revival--Willy And The Poor Boys

60. Scott Walker--Scott 2

59. Sam Cooke--Night Beat

58. The Beatles--Beatles For Sale

57. Terry Riley--A Rainbow In Curved Air

56. Roscoe Mitchell--Sound

55. John Fahey--Death Chants, Breakdowns & Military Waltzes

54. White Noise--An Electric Storm

53. Peter Brotzmann--Machine Gun

52. The Rolling Stones--Their Satanic Majesties Request

51. The Jimi Hendrix Experience--Electric Ladyland

50. Captain Beefheart & The Magic Band--Safe As Milk

49. King Crimson--In The Court Of The Crimson King

48. Miles Davis--Sketches Of Spain

47. The Mothers Of Invention--Freak Out!

46. John Coltrane--Giant Steps

45. The Beatles--Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band

44. Bob Dylan--Highway 61 Revisited

43. Otis Redding--Otis Blue: Otis Redding Sings Soul

42. Pharoah Sander--Karma

41. The Mothers Of Invention--We're Only In It For The Money

40. The Rolling Stones--Beggars Banquet

39. Van Morrison--Astral Weeks

38. Nico--The Marble Index

37. John Coltrane--The Olatunji Concert: The Last Live Recording

36. Charles Mingus--The Black Saint And The Sinner Lady

35. Van Dyke Parks--Song Cycle

34. The Beatles--A Hard Day's Night

33. The Byrds--Sweetheart Of The Rodeo

32. Anthony Braxton--For Alto

31. The Zombies--Odessey & Oracle

30. Nico--Chelsea Girl

29. The Monks--Black Monk Time

28. Nick Drake--Five Leaves Left

27. Pink Floyd--Piper At The Gates Of Dawn

26. Terry Riley--In C

25. Miles Davis--In A Silent Way

24. The Sonics--Here Are The Sonics!!!

23. Can--Monster Movie

22. John Fahey--The Transfiguration Of Blind Joe Death

21. Scott Walker--Scott 4

20. John Coltrane--Ascension

19. Sly & The Family Stone--Stand!

18. The Beatles--Rubber Soul

17. Bob Dylan--Blonde On Blonde

16. The Jimi Hendrix Experience--Are You Experienced?

15. The Beatles--Abbey Road

14. Leonard Cohen--Songs Of Leonard Cohen

13. Albert Ayler--Spiritual Unity

12. The Beatles--Magical Mystery Tour

11. James Brown--Live At The Apollo

10. The Velvet Underground--The Velvet Underground

9. John Coltrane--A Love Supreme

8. The Stooges--The Stooges

7. The Beach Boys--Pet Sounds

6. Love--Forever Changes

5. Captain Beefheart & The Magic Band--Trout Mask Replica

4. The Beatles--The Beatles

3. The Velvet Underground--White Light/White Heat

2. The Beatles--Revolver

1. The Velvet Underground & Nico--The Velvet Underground & Nico

So, not much changed at the top. Not much had to... I'll leave you a clip of my top album's immortal "Heroin" accompanied by footage of its creators, the coolest band of all time.